We recently reported that the latest smartphone in the Nexus family, Nexus 4 from LG, actually contained a LTE chip but no LTE radio. The lack of LTE radio means that it doesn’t support LTE connectivity. However, multiple reports claim that LTE support can be activated in Nexus 4 through a simple hack.
The first claim comes from a Canadian blog named Tekgadg. The blog claims that all you have to do is simply punch *#*#4636#*# on the idle screen. This displays a menu of the phone’s settings. Among the menu is an option which lets you select LTE as the preferred mode.
The blog claims, if your network supports LTE, you will be able to switch to LTE and start using it. The claims created quite a stir among the Android community. Soon, a member of the XDA Developers forum followed this claim by posting a speed test which showed his Nexus 4 getting speeds as high as 21 Mbps on Telus LTE network.
It has also been claimed that Nexus 4 supports LTE only on two bands, namely 1700MHz and 2100MHz, frequencies which are supported by certain Canadian wireless carriers. The cited LTE bands are also supported by certain carriers in Japan and by AT&T in the U.S.
This essentially means that contrary to the earlier analysis, the device does indeed support LTE connectivity. But the big question remains, why wouldn’t Google and LG announce this particular feature?
Source: Tekgadg
Courtesy: TechCrunch
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easy to answer why Google and LG wouldn’t advertise LTE…
If LTE doesn’t work in all countries, you end up with legal trouble from people in those countries who saw the advertising on the internet. Much easier to build it in, but not advertise it, when it only works in a few areas.